Chapter 16 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Why have you been so funny all vese days?” Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question. “Funny?” Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant. But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
Chapter 16 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading ““Why have you been so funny all vese days?””
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.”
a brief written record
From this reading “Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “But of course she did understand, perfectly well.”
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.”
hard to endure
From this reading “Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
as might be expected
In this reading “But of course she did understand, perfectly well.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
immediately past
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
engage in
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
a brief written record
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lord Hovenden had at last brought himself to put the long-premeditated question.
hard to endure
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading But of course she did understand, perfectly well.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Irene echoed on another note, trying to make a joke of it, as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Why have you been so funny all vese days?”
Chapter 16 of Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 16 holds 116 sentences of Those barren leaves, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74437 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74437, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1585 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Those barren leaves section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Those barren leaves to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Those barren leaves, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
